Thursdays With Dr. Sykes | Teen Ink

Thursdays With Dr. Sykes MAG

By Anonymous

     It’s a beautiful place. The trees grow in every direction. They create forests that look like a woven mat of branches and leaves. The roots curl up and out of the forest floor, pointing toward the sky like delicate fingers. The leaves are never brown, but vivid red. The sky is purple and the stars always shine. In this place, I am the hero. I always come out on top, and everything always works in my favor. The only problem with this place is it’s only in my head.
In the real world, I am average. I am mediocre. I don’t have any noticeable talents, and I’m constantly reminded of this. My shrink thinks this is a self-esteem problem. I think that’s a load of s---. I’m beginning to think that if you are a teenage girl who’s not quite up to par and knows it, they chalk it up to the elusive “self-esteem problem.” I’ve been visiting Dr. Sykes for about six weeks, all for the low price of $300 an hour. You write one morbid diary entry and dye one perfectly purple streak in your brown hair and you’re sentenced to an eternity of therapy.
My mother and father are good people, but they’re ignorant as hell. I’m surprised they even thought of putting me in therapy. I was sure they would never risk scarring their perfect family image. That was the first real thing I told Dr. Sykes. I’m sure he put it down on his stupid pad of yellow legal paper as “a breakthrough.”
Actually, I know that’s what he wrote, because I stole his stupid UN-legal pad of paper. It drives you crazy sitting there having someone judge you, and never showing you what he’s thinking. Dr. Sykes is nice enough, but he spends most sessions talking in circles.
“So tell me, Violet, what are you feeling?”
“Trapped in this office. Can I jump out the window?” I chuckle at my own sarcasm, but not Dr. Sykes.
“Hmm, that is very interesting. Violet, do you often find yourself trapped?” Dr. Sykes begins to scribble on his pad.
“Yes, I often find myself trapped in this office.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
At this point in the session I want to laugh, and sometimes I do. How cliché of him to say that. Dr. Sykes is full of clichés, and for a man who’s paid $300 an hour, you’d think he’d think up his own generic material to feed his patients. Dr. Sykes glares at me for mentioning his heavy use of clichés.
My favorite part of therapy is the little speech at the end of each session. It’s like Jerry Springer’s final thought. They’re full of clichés like “Get the guts to do something about it,” “Good things come in small packages,” “You gotta sink or swim,” and my personal favorite, “A change is as good as a holiday.”
During his 10-minute monologue, I tend to return to my beautiful place. I actually like to daydream about it during most of the session, and most of my days and nights. I like to envision myself climbing those trees and jumping off into the deep sea. I feel free. I can swim in this infinite abyss and play deep-sea diver to forgotten shipwrecked treasures. I can sail to the edge of the world and flip over and sail underneath it. I get so wrapped up in my visit to my make-believe land that Dr. Sykes says it’s time to go.
The drive home isn’t that much fun. My mom probes me during the entire ride. She asks the dumbest questions - what we talked about, how I felt, blah, blah. This should be the end, but it isn’t. I still have to endure my father’s round of questioning as well as probing from my brother and sister. It feels like I’m at Dr. Sykes’ office all over again, except I’m being interrogated by my own family.
Today is my last visit to Dr. Sykes. I’m elated. I decide to throw him a bone and tell him about my fantasy world. I’m sure he’d like to know where my head goes during our sessions. He looks at me rather strangely and asks, “How often do you daydream about this place?”
I answer with all honesty, “A lot, but it’s no big deal. Everyone daydreams.” He scribbles in that pad again.
Dr. Sykes sidewinds into another round of questioning - got to make this last visit count, I guess. “How do you feel today? What about in school, home, anywhere?” He spits these out like they are his final words on earth. He’s leading into the self-esteem issue.
“Dr. Sykes, trust me, I don’t have a self-esteem problem.”
Then he seems to study my face. He takes off his glasses; his dark eyes are more intense when freed from the glass barrier.
“I know.”
I can’t believe my ears. Dr. Sykes, that ol’ champ, he knew all along. Before I can rejoice in the fact that he finally understands, he asks, “Do you often use your world as an escape from reality?” I look at him like he’s Quasimodo.
“Obviously, that’s why it’s called a fantasy.”
He looks me straight in the eye and says, “Perhaps you use that world as a way not to participate in your own life.”
Dr. Sykes has finally hit the nail on the head, if he doesn’t mind me borrowing one of his classic clichés. At last he figured me out, long before I did.
So, depression is my final diagnosis. I don’t know what to do so I begin to cry. He passes me a tissue and calls in my parents. My last visit with Dr. Sykes won’t be for another six weeks. .



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This article has 24 comments.


on Jul. 3 2018 at 4:06 pm
wuadbwabdu BRONZE, Wenatchee, Washington
3 articles 0 photos 54 comments

Favorite Quote:
If your reading this your too late - Drake

Like many of the people who commented, I respect your opinion. However, I disagree. It was an extremely suspenseful story and one of my favorites.

on May. 8 2018 at 4:55 pm
Sam.Simpson16, Tonawanda, New York
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments
This is a true masterpiece!

i love this !

This is great. Excellent. I love

on May. 21 2017 at 3:59 pm
HereSheIs BRONZE, Wellesley, Massachusetts
3 articles 0 photos 187 comments

Favorite Quote:
"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." -Plato

Good job filling it with real emotion

on Feb. 22 2017 at 2:22 am
RashelLiko SILVER, Tirana, Other
9 articles 0 photos 22 comments
This was an AMAZING story! Well done!

Cam_is_Away said...
on Jun. 17 2015 at 11:56 pm
Cam_is_Away, Non, California
0 articles 0 photos 116 comments
I love it! You definitely deserved to be published. It felt so real! Oh, you did such a great job, the way your characters spoke, it could've been so flat, but you added some color to it all! Violet is so dynamic, so interesting - Fantastic story, great job!!

on Apr. 12 2015 at 3:31 pm
OfficialIzzyColon BRONZE, St.Louis, Missouri
3 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Do something other than killing time. Because time is killing you."

There were points where I forgot that this was a fiction story. Very impressive, believable, and relatable character. Very well done!

Vooglet BRONZE said...
on Mar. 21 2015 at 1:15 am
Vooglet BRONZE, Huntington Beach, California
2 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. -Vince Lombardi

Hey guys I spent alot of time on this piece. Please check it out, any feedback is greatly appreciated :) thankyou @Vooglet

Siara BRONZE said...
on Jan. 14 2015 at 9:23 pm
Siara BRONZE, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
2 articles 0 photos 3 comments
really great...relatable, very well written, enjoyable. I'd like to read more of your work. :)

User464646 said...
on Aug. 13 2014 at 3:48 pm
User464646, Doylestown, Ohio
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is power in self sacrifice. -Veronica Roth<br /> <br /> What&#039;s the point of being alive if you don&#039;t at least try to do something remarkable? -John Green

Very well writen. The character is very belivable as well as relatable. I really enjoyed reading this story. :)

Maia Koryn said...
on Mar. 12 2014 at 4:57 pm
Thank you.

wMESw BRONZE said...
on Jan. 5 2014 at 10:42 am
wMESw BRONZE, Topeka, Kansas
1 article 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
Nothing is impossible the word it&#039;s self says I&#039;m possible!

Really good I loved it.

on Jun. 28 2013 at 6:15 pm
TheGirlintheOrange, Olympia, Washington
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment
The character voice in this is really strong, and I liked how you developed the backstory while simultaneously keeping the story moving forward.  It was a great piece, and--for a piece about depression--very fun to read, but I do feel like you made the ending too abrupt.  It's pretty much in the same paragraph when she confesses the fantasy world that she is diagnosed, and she doesn't really have much to say on her sudden change in diagnosis.  Perhaps draw out the ending a bit more?  Other than that, I loved it!

JRaye PLATINUM said...
on Jun. 21 2013 at 8:17 pm
JRaye PLATINUM, Dorr, Michigan
43 articles 10 photos 523 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;If you build your house far enough away from Trouble, then Trouble will never find you.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Have you ever looked fear in the face and said, &#039;I just don&#039;t care.&#039;?&quot;

Really good! :) I love how strong your voice was, how you really became Violet. If the character is based on you, then your words flowed really well, but if you made up the character I'd find that even more impressive...If that makes any sense lol. Anyways, it was a very well-written story, especially at the entertaining ending :) Keep it up!

on Jan. 18 2013 at 9:23 am
In_Love_with_Writing GOLD, Easton, Pennsylvania
12 articles 0 photos 389 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.&quot; Phillipians 4:13

It wasn't bad. It was pretty good. Nice job. Can you comment and rate some of my work? It would put a smile on my face if you did? Thanks :)

on Sep. 13 2012 at 3:56 pm
bekahtrib SILVER, Berwyn, Illinois
9 articles 0 photos 37 comments
Nice job. There is nothing "weak" about this article. I think you have a good voice. Your  flow and progress is natural, and effective.  The beginning wasn't confusing to me at all, it simply grabbed the attention and set the scene in the narrator's mind. All I can say is you've got the words, just do the mental work and flesh out the content, and say what you want to say. Happy Writing!

on Sep. 12 2012 at 6:30 pm
dolphincrazy226 BRONZE, Madison, Alabama
4 articles 2 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life is Good!

I like the opening sequence, though it was a bit confusing at first, but you explained it well later.  the descriptions tended to have a lot of emotion in them, and sent a very biased point of view.  this was fun, because at the end, i sort of questioned your entire viewpoint on dr, sykes.  very nice twist there;)  great job and keep writing!

on Jul. 24 2012 at 1:33 pm
CelestaCuffrig GOLD, Loveland, Colorado
11 articles 1 photo 19 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Inspiration is only as enlightening as you are open to it.&quot;

Real life in it's greatest form: fiction. I love the descriptions of Violet's fantasy world throughout and the sarcastic and raw writing of her real life. Brilliant! Check out my works, pretty please? KEEP IT UP. 

Bex24 BRONZE said...
on Sep. 15 2009 at 10:01 pm
Bex24 BRONZE, Toronto, Other
3 articles 21 photos 79 comments
Very intriguing. I really enjoyed reading this.